Abstract
The death of General Zia-ul-Haq in 1988 ushered in the civil governments which lasted till 1999 until General Musharraf took over and once again the military era started which lasted till 2007. It is unfortunate that the democratic governments led by Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif were marred by personal rivalry/vendetta, bad governance, corruption, inefficiency and tussle with the other organs of the state. People of Pakistan remained baffled hoping that the governments would deliver. The political bickering and experimentation with the constitution of Pakistan invited another military dictator to take the reins of the government. As expected the dictator maneuvered to keep intact his governance till 2007 when a civil government re-started the process of democracy in Pakistan. General Zia left a Damocles sword in the form of 8th amendment in the hands of the President. After Zia’s tradition of dissolving the NA and provincial assemblies four times, the tool of 8th amendment was used to dissolve the legislative assemblies from 1988 to 1997. During this period three elected governments were sent packing. There were four general elections conducted during this period and interestingly, the year of 1993 saw five PMs and three Presidents of Pakistan. It struck as if the democratic order was being built on the shifting sands. This article would discuss the political bickering between Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto and meddling by the military men. It ended in the Martial Law of General Musharraf in 1999 which was again legalized by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. This time the judges were really generous as they granted power to a military dictator to make amendments in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. The plane crash of military ruler General Zia led Benazir Bhutto to capture the illustrious office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988 after the hanging of her father ZA Bhutto (a former Prime Minister of Pakistan).
Zahid Mahmood. (2015) Political Turmoil And Military Era Of General Musharraf (1988-2007), Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Volume 28, Issue 2.
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